amuck

[ uh-muhk ]
See synonyms for amuck on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. mad with murderous frenzy.

noun

Idioms about amuck

  1. run / go amuck,

    • to rush about in a murderous frenzy: The maniac ran amuck in the crowd, shooting at random.

    • to rush about wildly; lose self-control: When the nightclub caught fire the patrons ran amuck, blocking the exits.

Origin of amuck

1
First recorded in 1510–20; variant of amok

Words Nearby amuck

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use amuck in a sentence

  • If you give steroids to a patient who is not yet exhibiting signs of an overactive immune system, you may actually make them sicker by allowing SARS-CoV-2 to run amuck.

  • I learned to swing an axe by cutting down saplings, and ran "amuck" among them just as my elders did among the larger trees.

  • The elephant was not running amuck, though he might eventually work himself into that blind ungovernable rage.

    The Adventures of Kathlyn | Harold MacGrath
  • As a wild beast is tied to keep it from running amuck, so the Law bridles mad and furious man to keep him from running wild.

  • His men were hoisting aboard the three dripping, sputtering passengers who had run amuck.

    Blow The Man Down | Holman Day

British Dictionary definitions for amuck

amuck

/ (əˈmʌk) /


noun, adverb
  1. a variant of amok

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012